The present disclosure relates to a centrifuge, for example, a continuously working separator. The centrifuge includes a drum having a vertical rotational axis, a single or double conical inner jacket, and an inlet pipe opening into a distributor having at least two or more distributor channels distributed about the circumference of the distributor. The centrifuge further comprises a disk package including separator disks.
Such separators are known. See, for example, DE 36 20 548 A1, GB 728 822 A, FR 13 59 356 A and DE 654 319 A1.
There is still a need for improvement especially in the manner of feeding the centrifuge material to a separator disk package. This is so when the centrifuge is arranged in such a way that the centrifuge material in the drum flows radially from the outside into the separator disk package.
It is known from DE 654 319 A to provide formed parts in a disk package in the individual separator disks in an outer boundary circumferential region which is aligned horizontally, and which formed parts form a kind of riser channel in cooperation in the axial direction.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,619 A to distribute at least tubular elements on the outside circumference of the disk package, which tubular elements are open radially inwardly and comprise individual, axially offset slits towards the outside, so that solid material can exit to the outside. These channels are integrated in the bottom part of the drum, which is very impractical and is unstable in operation.
The present disclosure relates to, among other things, optimizing the feed of the centrifuge material to be processed into the disk package in the drum.
Thus, the present disclosure relates to a centrifuge that includes a drum having a vertical rotational axis, a single or double conical inner jacket, an inlet pipe, and a distributor into which the inlet pipe opens. The distributor includes at least two distributor channels distributed about a circumference of the distributor. The centrifuge further includes a disk package including separator disks and tubular elements that are distributed on an outside circumference of the disk package. The tubular elements are fastened externally to the separator disk package.
Accordingly, at least one or more tubular elements are arranged on the outside circumference of the disk package, so that a riser-channel-like feed line into the separator disk package occurs in a simple way, distributed, for example, over its entire axial height. As noted above, the tubular elements are further fastened on the outside to the separator disk package.
The feed of the centrifuge material into the drum and into the separator disk package is thus optimized. The arrangement is also secure and stable at high speeds. Moreover, it is easy to produce in contrast to the generic state of the art.
The term tubular elements shall not be considered in a too narrow sense. For example, the tubular elements may comprise a large variety of shapes in tubes or ducts that are not enclosed circumferentially. A semi-cylindrical duct-like shape may be especially advantageous, with the open side of these ducts facing radially towards the inside. The ducts can have a semi-circular cross section, but also a flattened or angular cross section.
The present disclosure also relates to providing duct-like depressions and/or deflection areas each arranged in the surface of the piston slide or the distributor facing the interior space of the drum beneath the opening area of each distributor channel into the drum. The depressions extend from this area in, for example, a radial manner slightly, that is, for example, a few centimeters, radially up to and over the outer circumference of the disk package and are arranged in their end region in such a way that they deflect a product stream guided through the distributor channels into the drum axially upwardly parallel to the rotational axis radially outside of the largest circumference of the separator disk package. Thus, an optimized introduction of the product to be processed into the separator disk stack in the drum may already be achieved. An especially advantageous product feed may be achieved when the duct-like depressions and/or deflection areas are combined with the tubular elements.
Other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following descriptions when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.